Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Free Agency Fit and Fever 3

Free Agency is beginning to wind down, but not before a few more high profile players need to sign on with their 2014-2015 team.

LeBron James is going back to Cleveland
Carmelo Anthony is staying in New York
Chris Bosh is staying in Miami
Dirk Nowitzki is staying in Dallas
Luol Deng is going to Miami
Pau Gasol is going to Chicago
Trevor Ariza is going to Houston
Paul Pierce is going to Washington
Kyle Lowry is staying in Toronto
Chandler Parsons is going to Dallas
Marcin Gortat is staying in Washington
Isaiah Thomas was traded to Phoenix
Gordon Hayward is staying in Utah
Shaun Livingston is going to Golden State
Vince Carter is going to Memphis
Mike Miller is going to Cleveland
Lance Stephenson is going to Charlotte

In my estimation there are still four high impact top free agents available

G Eric Bledsoe RFA (Suns) is still available
F Greg Monroe RFA (Pistons) is still available
F Carlos Boozer UFA (Bulls) was just amnestied
G Ray Allen UFA (Heat) is still available


Bledsoe and Monroe make up two guys still available that can be franchise corner stone players. These are the guys that you can begin to build a playoff team around. I think that both of these guys can and will be in the playoffs this season. Ray Allen and Carlos Boozer on the other hand, are high impact players in the post season. They should be highly sought after by any playoff team.

G Eric Bledsoe 
Teams interested: Phoenix, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Milwaukee, 
My pick for best fit: Phoenix 
Jeff Hornacek already proved that a lineup with Bledsoe and Dragic is not only effective but deadly. With the addition of Isaiah Thomas they have the best depth of ball handlers in the league, and can be sporting combinations of the three guards the entire game. The loss of Frye may seem large, but the Morris Twins and PJ Tucker can come together to fill the void at the small forward/power forward position. The needed development of Alex Len and Miles Plumlee at the center position remains their largest weakness. The production from this exciting backcourt should be enough to put them into the playoffs.

F Greg Monroe 
Teams interested: Detroit, Orlando, 
My pick for best fit: Orlando 
I've written about this before, but Greg Monroe to Orlando could be very cool to see. If he can be a serviceable long term center in this league, Orlando could turn him into a franchise corner stone. Those other three corners? Elfrid Payton rookie point guard, Victor Oladipo second year shooting guard, Aaron Gordon rookie power forward. Aside from those three youngsters: Mo Harkless, Tobias Harris and Channing Frye solidify the forward positions, and Vucevic gives them a tremendous backup center, or valuable trade asset moving forward.

F Carlos Boozer 
Teams interested: Charlotte, Houston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Phoenix 
My pick for best fit: Houston 

Houston decided not to match Chandler Parson's 3 year 46 million dollar offer sheet from Dallas and instead signed Trevor Ariza to fill his spot. They're going to be moving forward with Harden and Beverly in the backcourt, but don't really have an answer at the power forward position. Carlos Boozer could be that answer. Plugging Boozer into their starting lineup allows them to bring Troy Daniels and Terrence Jones off the bench. Both of which have skill sets that will give the Rockets added flexibility in the second unit. With Boozer, Houston should contend for one of the best starting fives in the league.

G Ray Allen 
Teams interested: Atlanta, Miami, Washington, Memphis
My pick for best fit: Washington 

The Wizards just added Paul Pierce to the mix to start at Small Forward for the Wizards, but their bench isn't among the tops in the league. I believe that adding Ray Allen to your bench to play 15 minutes a game would be crucial for the Wizards. Wall and Beal both terrorize defenses with their athleticism and finishing ability. Having Ray Allen shooting corner threes when either of these two guys make their way to the rim could help them in their pursuit of the conference championship game. 

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